Roses and Kuon
by Darkbloodz
Summary: Sho dreams of corn. Kuu and Lory dream of weddings. Surprise party by Maria and Kanae. Long time secrets coming out.
1. Chapter 1

Roses and Kuon

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not in any way own or have claim on any characters in this story.

Chapter 1: Corn

I was standing on a beach and Kyoko was running towards me with the most beautiful expression on her face. She comes up to me and hugs me. I thought everything was where it should be until I heard it. "I love you Corn!" …. _Corn?_ …. _What the hell does corn have to do with anything?_ She looks up to me and smiles, then…. _What?_... She opens her mouth to talk and all I can hear is, "Sho, wake up! Sho, wake up!" and then just like that a big hole appeared and the sand swallowed me.

Sho woke up to see Shoko standing over him, trying to wake him up. "Geez, don't just go nodding off at any corner you find, we need to get going, you have another interview in an hour!"

"What took so long then? And what the hell does corn have to do with anything?" Grumpily, Sho got up and started following Shoko through the halls of the TBM Studio.

"Corn? Where'd you get that from?" Shoko couldn't help the curiosity as she overheard her charge's grumblings as he got up.

"Kyoko-chan, a package came for you!" Turning the corner, Sho saw Kyoko walking towards them, unbeknownst to her, when her name was called from behind. A kid that works at TBM Studios came running up to her with a gift wrapped box and a bunch of large, deep red roses. After seeing the package Kyoko started jumping up and down like a kid at Christmas or at least a normal kid anyways since she didn't have the luxury of that.

"Finally, it's here! Do you know how long I've been waiting for this?" The kid started backing away, not at all used to the eerily bubbly tone or the crazed bubbly look Kyoko was currently wearing on her face. She looked at the roses and Sho froze in mid-step. He never would have thought to see such a face full of love come from her. Then she started mumbling to herself and kissing the roses one by one.

Without thinking, Sho thawed and walked up behind her snatching the card from the bunch of roses. He expected it to be from some crazy fan at least – _Not that she would have any at that scale_, Sho thought with aggravation – but what he found was even more ridiculous. So ridiculous that he was struck speechless. With all the fancy handwriting and the hearts surrounding the words Sho wasn't even sure he was right…. but still …. smack in the middle of the expensive looking card were the words,

I love you, Kuon

"You!" Without a second thought Kyoko snatched the card from his hands. "Don't you dare contaminate my Corn!"

Sho looked at her like she just grew two heads. _Corn?_ "What did you just say? Corn? What does corn have to do with anything?"

"None of your business, Shotaro" Kyoko brushed pass him to get to wherever she was going when he pulled her back to face him. However, before he could get a word out, Sho felt the temperature drop about 40 degrees and then Kyoko was walking away from him again.

* * *

Wow, this looks a lot shorter here than when I was typing it up. Please R&R. And ideas are welcome ^.^


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Roses

After the shoot for Kimagure Rock, Kyoko walked out of TBM Studios to find Kuon waiting for her. With box and roses in hand, she ran to him with a wide smile.

"Do you like it?" It was Kuon who spoke first.

"I love it! These roses must have been expensive though. If you wanted to get me roses, you could have just gotten me normal ones. Or even one of these if you insisted." Pouting at him, Kyoko started putting her stuff in the back seat.

"You love those. And besides, I will get you what I want and you will like it. I don't care how much money I spend on you, so you shouldn't either." With a bright smile, Kuon bent down for a kiss when he caught sight of a golden head. And ironically, its owner had a bunch of sparkling roses. That would not have disturbed Kuon if Fuwa hadn't been heading in their direction and glaring at him because of the position he was in. Needless to say, that didn't stop Kuon from giving Kyoko a juicy kiss just as Sho walked up behind her.

"What was that for?" Seeing the goofy grin on Kuon's face brought suspicion into Kyoko's voice before she turned around to find a bunch of sparkly red roses shoved in her face. Accompanying the roses was the scowling face of Fuwa Sho.

"What do you want now?" The irritation in Kyoko's voice was evident as her mood became darker.

"Well Kyoko, it just so happens that today is rose day* and I thought it would be nice to give my girls some roses. You got a problem?" Sho looked bored as he gave his 'explanation'.

"I think your multiple girlfriends might appreciate your offer more than me. I don't care about your roses." With a satisfied huff Kyoko turned around and headed for the car.

"It doesn't matter whether you want it or not. I spent all this money to get them and I already gave everybody else. If you don't take it I'll just trash them." Kuon could see that this was a blatant lie. He decided to let this one go since Sho was so desperate for some attention.

Before she thought about it, Kyoko blurted out, "Then why don't you? I don't want them!"

"Kyoko, you'd let me trash all of this money and you have problems with _him_ taking you out for a simple dinner? What the hell, woman!" With this Sho turned around and stalked out of the parking lot.

Behind her Kyoko heard a chuckle. Kuon took notice of the gift box Kyoko had in a death grip. "What's in the box?"

"Oh, this?" Looking down at the box, Kyoko broke into a small smile. "That's a surprise."

With that, the two of them took off to their respective homes.

**Rose Day is June 12th. Depending on the color, the roses you give to others signify your intentions/feelings.

* * *

Ok, I'm officially stuck. T_T I had the idea and I ran with it. This is as far as I could get, even with the set up I made. Please help me get some more ideas!

Thanks ^.^


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry for the long wait! Please enjoy and don't forget to R&R

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not in any way own or have claim on any characters in this story.

Chapter 3: Stalking

The next day Sho decided to follow Kyoko around, see who she meets, trying in vain to find out what the sudden interest in corn is about. "I can't believe this."_Since the start of her day Kyoko has been with that guy! Where the hell are they going this time?_ Sho blew a frustrated sigh as he watched Kyoko walking from her building with Ren. It was a little after noon so obviously they were going to lunch before Kyoko let out another lecture on how an actor must take care of his body blah blah blah, but Sho didn't have the pleasure of knowing that.

Sho made his call once again. "Shoko, hurry it up! They're leaving!" Poor Shoko was conned into being Sho's chauffer for his little expedition.

As Sho was getting in the passenger side, Shoko started the 'are we done yet?' conversation. "Sho, aren't you satisfied yet? What will Kyoko-chan say when she finds out you've been following her?" Shoko did not like Sho's plan any more than his obsessive behavior.

"I am not going to stop until I get an answer. And what makes you think she's going to find out? You should remember that she is as oblivious to the world as ever. She wouldn't notice if she doesn't see me. Besides, it's not like anyone will recognize me in this disguise. Who knew I looked so different with my original color? I kind of want to see what she'll do…" Here Sho began to zone out, going into his own lala land. (Who knew he had one?)

"Sho, that's what I'm talking about. Knowing you, you're going to show off yourself to her and that's when she asks you how you found her and you'll tell her everything, even if it's encrypted in some language she can't understand. You know Tsuruga-san will understand perfectly fine though, don't you?"

"That's not going to happen so stop acting like my mother."

- 10 Minutes Later -

Sho watched as Ren pulled up to a small restaurant.

"What now? Are we going in?"

Sho shook his head 'no' and put his head back to rest his eyes. "We wait for them to go and then we follow. End of story."

- 30 Minutes Later -

Shoko saw Ren and Kyoko coming out of the restaurant and seriously considered whether to wake Sho or just end it here. She didn't get too far into her plot though because as soon as Ren started his car, Sho spoke up.

"They're leaving Shoko, shouldn't we be following?" And then they were off.

- 15 Minutes Later -

"It's about time." Sho sat in the car watching Kyoko get out of Ren's car. "What job is this one?" Last night Sho made Shoko get Kyoko's schedule and so he expected his answer rather quickly but one didn't come.

*Sigh* _Unbelievable! Kyoko-chan! I am sooo sorry!_ With great regret Shoko told him, "This is Kyoko-chan's Box-R shoot. Tsuruga-san isn't on there with her so she will be alone." At this moment Shoko decided to let her charge run with his little obsession until he decided to takes things over the line.

"Okay, I'm going in!" Sho was about to hop out of the car when Shoko stopped him.

"No. You're going to disrupt them before they get finished working. I don't want to have to clean up a scene so please just wait! Besides, you're going to have to tell security who you are before they let you in, she'll know you're coming."

"No worries, I'm just going to watch." With that he jumped out of the car and walked coolly towards the studio entrance.

- Inside -

Everyone was beginning to come out of their dressing rooms as the 10 minute calls were made. The air was filled with anticipation because today's scene was going to be a freelance torture scene. Today's victim is a new girl that tried to get close to Natsu so that she could get into that select clique of girls.

By the time Sho found the studio and was able to talk the guard into letting him in, the filming was in its climax, right in the middle of a very gruesome torture session. Sho watched in horror as the scene continued.

This time around, Natsu wasn't lifting a finger. She just sat back to watch as the girls put the insolent girl through the initiation test.

"Enough! This is getting boring."

"D-did I pass Natsu-sama?" The girl was relieved that the test was over and, unfortunately for her, she decided to show it and speak. However, all thoughts scattered when panic took place as Natsu smiled sweetly.

* * *

Maybe Sho's a bit OOC? It's the way the story came to me so please let me know…

It always turns out shorter than when I write these chapters T_T Sorry about that.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the long wait! Been really busy with exams. Please enjoy and don't forget to R&R**

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not in any way own or have claim on Skip Beat or any characters in this story.

Chapter 4: Confrontation

_RECAP:_

_This time around, Natsu wasn't lifting a finger. She just sat back to watch as the girls_ _put the insolent girl through the initiation test._

_"Enough! This is getting boring."_

_"D-did I pass Natsu-sama?" The girl was relieved that the test was over and, unfortunately for her, she decided to show it and speak. However, all thoughts scattered when panic took place as Natsu smiled sweetly._

Everyone watching thought Natsu was smiling at the girl on her knees on the verge of tears. Sho knew different. She was looking right at him with the bone chilling smile.

"Of course you didn't pass. Did you think I would have a weakling like you around me and my lovely friends here?" Natsu smirked. "Girls, I think you went a bit easy on this one, don't you agree?"

"I guess so, I mean, she even dared to talk to you after that." It was Kaori who spoke.

"Glad it's not just me. Get rid of her." Natsu watched in mild satisfaction as the girl was dragged away, pleading for her life."

"And cut! Good job everyone that was another great idea. I'll see you all tomorrow." Everyone began packing up on and saying their goodbyes. Only then did they notice the oddly familiar looking brown haired, chocolate eyed boy gaping as Kyoko went strutting over to him still in Natsu mode.

Her alluring voice whispered a "follow me," before she walked away, not waiting for him to follow. Shocked whispers followed the two out the door as they had never seen Kyoko bring a guest in. They expected a guy even less.

- In Kyokos's dressing room -

"Need something?" Sho watched Kyoko's back as she fixed her make-up. He jumped at the question which broke their odd silence since leaving the set. When she turned around Sho felt himself stiffen as he beheld not Kyoko but Natsu smiling mischievously at him.

Determined not to lose face in from of Kyoko, even if she was still in character, Sho blurted out the first thing that came to his mind.

"What're you doing with Tsuruga Ren all day?"

"Ohhh, I didn't think you would give yourself away that easily! And to add the topping to the cake, you're concerned about me and Ren~?" Natsu clapped her hands seeming extremely happy all of a sudden.

"What do you mean concerned?" The way Kyoko said Ren's name gave Sho the chills.

"Well, well, well, the great Fuwa Shotaro is feeling insecure. My, how the times have changed!" Natsu began walking forward, backing Sho into the door.

"I am not! I was just curious. It's almost like you guys are going out being around each other all day long! You're mine!" Sho felt his confidence build as he delivered facts that he was sure would have Kyoko trembling in a corner. The emerging smirk on his face immediately faltered as he beheld Kyoko, no Natsu smile up at him.

"So what?" That definitely caught him off guard. "Maybe we are, maybe we aren't. It doesn't really concern you now does it? At least he's much better than you." By now the two were just inches apart. Sho took this as his golden opportunity regardless of who was controlling her body right now. He might never have this chance again for a very long time. Of course, while his brain was busy thinking about this, he missed the second part of her answer. Just as he began inching closer to Kyoko's smirking face a ringing phone interrupted him.

"Ah!" as quick as lightning Natsu was gone and the bubbly Kyoko that he was used to hopped off to find her phone, leaving a frozen Sho at backed up against the door.

_What were you about to do? Are you stupid? Natsu would eat you alive!_ Sho turned around and banged his head on the door thinking about his noisy but correct inner voice.

"Found you!" Sho turned around to see Kyoko open her phone.

"Geez! So much excitement just for a damn phone," muttered Sho.

"Hello? Oh Ren! You're already here? I'm in my dressing room. You can come if you want, I still have to change. Do you know how to get here? Oh, well I guess you could ask someone if you don't find it. First door on the left, then third right. Yup! See you in a bit ^ . ^"

Sho watched as Kyoko invited his nemesis to join them and then narrowed his eyes as she started blushing as Ren said something to her. _What the hell. What's he saying? She shouldn't blush like that for anyone but me!_ Sho started glowering and muttering to himself until a soft knock interrupted his thoughts.

"Will you get out of the way already? You are in the way!" Kyoko shoved Sho into the corner so that she could open the door.

As soon as the door opened Ren semi-launched himself at Kyoko, tackling her to the floor, and earning a squeak. "Hey there princess, ready for the ball?" Ren had that mischievous glint in his eyes again until he spotted a nuisance in the corner. "Didn't tell me you had a guest Kyoko." Ren sounded a bit dejected and started to pull out the puppy dog face.

Giggling a bit Kyoko pushed herself p saying, "We were just finishing up. He's on to us though."

"Hm, really? That might be a good think, don't you think? That would do the work for us." Nodding, both Kyoko and Ren looked over at a wide eye Sho.

"You're not serious! There's no way! Kyoko's mine, how many times do I have to say that?" Both Kyoko and Ren signed making Sho even more frantic.

"Alright Sho, time to go." Kyoko began pushing Sho out of the door then slammed it in his face after he was out. "Just give me five minutes," she said to Ren as she started out of her costume. Ren took his seat and started going over his plans for the night.

- Meanwhile -

Sho stood outside of Kyoko's dressing room for a good couple of minutes before he sluggishly moved toward the exit. As he was making his way to the parking lot were Shoko was waiting, Sho thought it was weird that the set was already empty.

Spotting Sho, Shoko got out and out of curiosity because of his behavior asked, "So how'd it go? The only answer was a slammed car door and a dark look from him.

**So what do you think? Please tell me if the switching between calling her Kyoko and Natsu was confusing or badly done in the beginning. R&R please! I have the next chapter mostly written out; I just want to tweak it a bit. And then I will have to see when I can type it up because my new classes are taking some time to wrap around.**

**Thanks for reading! ^_^**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the long wait! Been really busy with the end of school and all. This chapter isn't really what I wanted but I can't put it off any longer so without further ado, here you are. Please R&R! Enjoy =]**

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not in any way own or have claim on Skip Beat or any characters in this story.

Chapter 5: Dreaming

_RECAP:_

"_You're not serious! There's no way! Kyoko's mine, how many times do I have to say that?" Both Kyoko and Ren signed making Sho even more frantic._

_Spotting Sho, Shoko got out and out of curiosity because of his behavior asked, "So how'd it go? The only answer was a slammed car door and a dark look from him._

The room was dark except for one beam of light focused on a certain golden headed actress sitting on a plush love seat. She was enchanting in her body hugging maroon dress and matching heels that could kill. And her smile, that was the most alluring, bringing him out of the shadows.

He didn't know why he was here but he was content to let this run. It's not every day that he can see the woman he loves completely along with him and not trying to kill him or something.

"Hello Sho." This voice called him closer. She laughed as his eyes widened. Never in his life has Sho heard such a smooth, seductive tone come from her. When he stopped walking she rose to meet him.

"Why don't you come sit? You've been standing there for hours." The closer she came the more afraid Sho became. With every step she took, that smile showed something of an evil pleasure. Although his body was screaming for him to run, Sho couldn't even if he wanted to. He was completely frozen in place by the devil in front of him. All of a sudden he was moving forward, taking a seat with wide eyes as Kyoko, no more like Natsu, took a seat on his lap.

"W-what are you doing? No, more importantly where are we?" Sho couldn't help the fear that came out in his voice.

"I'm not doing anything Sho. And we're somewhere that we can be alone darling. Don't you want to be here?" Natsu began playing with his collar. "After all, this is what you wanted isn't it? You don't want the plain, boring girl with no sex appeal so I found someone for you. Do you like me now Sho?"

"Hey, what're you doing?" Sho did not realize until now that Natsu had been unbuttoning his shirt.

"Hmm?" Natsu rubbed her face against his neck and looked at Sho in his ever widening eyes. She leaned in to kiss him when he felt a jolt. The last thing he saw was Natsu laughing at him and going to a dark corner of the room illuminating a smirking Tsuruga Ren who proceeded to put his arms around her before everything went black.

The light finally came back to his eyes. When Sho woke up he was on the floor tangled in his bed sheets running a cold sweat.

**Omigod I really thought this was going to be longer. I sincerely apologize. And once again sorry about begin so late, I was caught up writing another story. I don't know if I will post it though because I think it copies someone elses. Not completely sure but I don't want to risk it. I will try and write more for this story though, I really need to ^_^' Thanks for reading! ^_^**


	6. Chapter 6

**Please R&R! Enjoy =]**

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not in any way own or have claim on Skip Beat or any characters in this story.

Chapter 6: Buttering Him Up?

RECAP:

"_Hmm?" Natsu rubbed her face against his neck and looked at Sho in his ever widening eyes. She leaned in to kiss him when he felt a jolt. The last thing he saw was Natsu laughing at him and going to a dark corner of the room illuminating a smirking Tsuruga Ren who proceeded to put his arms around her before everything went black._

_The light finally came back to his eyes. When Sho woke up he was on the floor tangled in his bed sheets running a cold sweat._

Tonight was no different from any other night for Kuon Hizuri a.k.a. Tsuruga Ren for the past year. He was once again sitting in front of the television lazily flipping through the movie channels until he was permitted to enter his kitchen again. And so, the TV landed on some gossip channel while Kuon, instead of watching the TV, began to reminisce.

One year, they had been officially dating for one year now although they still kept it a secret from everyone./ They both knew that the President, Kotonami Kanae, and Yashiro Yukihito had all figured it out a couple of months ago but that was that.

_Now if only she would move in with me everything would be just perfect!_ Kuon had been trying to get Kyoko to move in with him for 6 months now and she absolutely refused every time. A month before he began his 'move in with me, I'm begging' campaign Kuon told her his story and put everything on the table for her to absorb. To his surprise she had taken everything quite well, there hadn't been any running away, shocked and dark looks, finger pointing, or any of the usual Kyoko reactions. That would have scared him except that she was smiling and crying and laughing all at the same time so he just sat there. The next day she avoided him like the plague but he trapped her and made her talk and all was well again after some frustration and agitation. Sort of. For the life of him Kuon could not figure out what was wrong with her and up to now he still could not get a grasp of what that change was in Kyoko. 

Kuon was snapped out of his thoughts when Kyoko summoned him to the kitchen to help her set the table. He couldn't help but smile at the contents of tonight's dinner.

"Hn, what's this? It's quite a lot of meat for one meal Kyoko." With a smirk he added, "What're you buttering me up for, hm? I really want to know."

Kyoko blushed a little but before she could answer the TV caught both of their attentions. "And for our final piece of news, we have finally gotten a look into Kyoko-san's debut movie, _Elements_. The shorts were released only hours ago and already Japan is buzzing with excitement. We got in touch with the director and were told that due to the major reaction from just the promo shorts, they will push up the screening of the movie to five days from now. That's right! And because of that, the movie premier will be in one week instead! We can't wait to see Japan's fastest rising actress in her first ever movie! Stay tuned tomorrow at the same time where we'll have even more information about Kyoko-san and _Elements_! Goodnight and as always, thanks for joining us!"

The program ended and the two stars turned back to their slightly cool meal one with a proud smile and one turning redder by the second. Looking up, Kuon caught Kyoko, red faced and all, sneaking peeks at him. Smiling yet again for the night, he said, "My dean Kyoko, please share what is on your mind."

Kyoko's blush reddened at being caught. "Well, I don't know what they are planning but Maria-chan and Moko-san said that they were doing a surprise party for the President and said for me to tell you about it. It's this Friday night but if you're busy you don't need to change your schedule. I know you have all of those interviews and photo shoots lined up this week. Besides, I have a feeling they are plotting something but I can't put my finger on it."

"Of course I'll be your date for the party Kyoko!" Kyoko blushed and continued eating. They ended the night in a light mood as Kuon drove Kyoko back to the Daruma-ya.

**As always, thanks for reading! ^_^ I'll try to update by the end of the month but I am not promising anything. Reviews help and if you have any ideas or anything you want to see, drop me a note :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**Ok, I lied. I was excited to get to the good stuff so I had to write this chapter =] It's basically just a little informative filler kind of thing but I thought I should have it in there… The NEXT chapter will most likely be in by the end of August.**

**I think that from now on, it will be less Sho's POV and more switching around between different scenes and characters until _*not telling you ^_^*_ lol. Please R&R! Enjoy =]**

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not in any way own or have claim on Skip Beat or any characters in this story.

Chapter 7: Stuffz

RECAP:

"_Of course I'll be your date for the party Kyoko!" Kyoko blushed and continued eating. They ended the night in a light mood as Kuon drove Kyoko back to the Daruma-ya._

Shoko walked into Sho's apartment that morning to find a distressing situation. Sho wasn't asleep today but he wasn't ready to go either. He was just sitting on the couch staring at the ceiling.

"Sho, what are you doing? It's already time to go. I thought you would be ready by now. Don't you want to see Kyoko-chan?" _I wonder what's got him this time…_

Sho flinched and turned to look at her with desperately scared eyes. "I-I don't think I'm going to go see Kyoko today. I think I should keep my distance for a while."

_What? Yessss! But wait, why?_ Keeping the excitement and joy out of her face, Shoko decided it was best to keep her curiosity in check and just get him ready for work.

**In one of LME's many meeting rooms**

Two young ladies sat at a round table with papers spread everywhere and a whiteboard full of color and very little white space left. To the side stood a very suspicious man dressed as an Egyptian servant quietly observing the two.

Fussing over a large stack of papers, the little blond exclaimed, "Yay! The guest list is almost done! All we need now is…um… well, I don't think we should invite _him_ to come."

"Of course not!" Snapped the irritated raven haired actress. "If he's there it'll just ruin her mood. We can't be throwing a party for her and invite someone who is going to make her irritated through the whole thing!"

Pouting, Maria replied, "But Kanae-san, this party is to celebrate one-sama's success and you have to admit if he didn't have her in his PV she probably wouldn't have had all those roles. He is a part of the reason she's successful so even though we don't like it at all, it wouldn't be right to not invite him. It might make her look bad for not thanking him, especially to his fans."'

"You know, for a little kid, you sure give well thought out adult reasons sometimes. But anyways, why would his fans find out so easily?"

"Well, Grandfather said that he's going to have some media there because he's going to give everyone some good news."

"Oh yeah, like what?" _How is it I'm holding such a conversation with this kid? It doesn't even feel like I'm talking to one! _

"I don't know, he won't tell me more" Maria folded her arms over her chest with a humph and looked over at Sebastian. "Right Se-kun?"

Sebastian nodded his head in confirmation as Kanae ruffled her hair in frustration. "All right Maria-chan lets send that jerk an invitation. I hope Kyoko won't be mad."

**The President's Office**

_RING RING RING CLICK_ "Hey boss, how can I help you? Nothing's wrong with my sons right?"

Chuckling at Kuu's insane ability to assume the worst when it comes to his children Lory took a little time to assess what he was about to do. _Ah, what the hell, they'll thank me for this anyways._ "No, Kuu, nothing is wrong with your children. It's quite the opposite actually, very exciting news! What are you two doing Friday and this weekend?"

"That depends boss, what's happening?"

"Well, Maria and Mogami-kun's friend Kotonami Kanae are planning a congratulatory party to celebrate her debut and, what did they call it? Oh! Yes, her unusually colorful road to get there. And her graduation from the LoveMe section though Sebastian and I and now you of course, are the only ones who know about it. Won't you come celebrate with your child?"

"Why didn't you say that earlier? I have something Friday morning but I can get there in the afternoon with Julie." Kuu could hardly contain his excitement.

"Ok then, it's settled. I will have a jet ready for you at 3PM Friday. Oh, and Kuu? Don't tell Ren or Mogami-kun you're coming." Hanging up the phone after a little 'how's everything going' conversation, Lory got to work on his next plan with an evil, yet somewhat not, smile.

Calling up Sebastian over the intercom in the meeting room, Lory set to work. When Sebastian arrived at the office, Lory was smiling victoriously at the misleading notes he individually wrote to the 5 subjects in his plan.

"Ok Sebastian. It's time to get busy! All in the wonderful, good name of LOVE! Take these notes to these 5 and make sure they read it while you're there. I want you to tell me what kind of faces they make *smirk*. Sebastian took the envelopes and silently made his way out of Lory's office towards Kanae and Maria first.

"Now, let's see if Ten-chan can lend me a hand here"

**Ok, so I'm not sure what to have Maria call Kanae so I just used Kanae-san. If you have a different suggestion, I would like to hear it, I don't really think it fits…. **

**And what do you think about Maria's nickname for Sebastian? Should I change it?**

**As always, thanks for reading! ^_^ I'll try to update by the end of the month but I am not promising anything. Reviews help and if you have any ideas or anything you want to see, drop me a note :) **


	8. Chapter 8

**I really am sorry but I can't believe I never said this before I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone that sends in reviews to my story and all of you who read it in the first place. It's really nice to know that so many people think my story is that good. I hope to continue to deliver even better material to you all as I continue to expand my writing ^_^**

**And now on with the story! Thanks for coming and please enjoy this next installment =]**

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not in any way own or have claim on Skip Beat or any characters in this story.

Chapter 8: Everyone's Assembled. Lory's News?

RECAP:

"_Ok Sebastian. It's time to get busy! All in the wonderful, good name of LOVE! Take these notes to these 5 and make sure they read it while you're there. I want you to tell me what kind of faces they make *smirk*. Sebastian took the envelopes and silently made his way out of Lory's office towards Kanae and Maria first._

"_Now, let's see if Ten-chan can lend me a hand here"_

Sebastian opened the door just as Kanae and Maria got up to leave. Unlike when he had left, on the table was a neat pile of notebooks and papers containing the somewhat complicated whirl of plans and guest lists for Kyoko's surprise party. Even the whiteboard seemed to have gained some sort of semblance of order.

"Ah! Se-kun's back!" Maria bounced up to him as he closed the door behind him. In his hands were two envelopes, a pink one with Kanae's name on it, and peach colored one with Maria's name on it. Sebastian handed Kanae hers first waiting and watching intently.

_What's he waiting for? Am I supposed to read it here then?_ Opening the envelope and quickly scanning the message written inside Kanae's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as her head snapped up to meet Sebastian's emotionless eyes. _What the hell? What kind of cryptic message is this President? _"What's the President mean 'don't worry, you're not in trouble'?

Sebastian only nodded his head and handed Maria her envelope.

Opening hers, she slowly read, "I've got exciting news my girl. When my guests get here, I will call all of you to my office. There, all will be uncovered! Until later then, enjoy the rest of your day." Maria's face contorted into one of confusion before asking, "Just what is Grandfather planning now? All will be uncovered? You aren't going to tell us are you Se-kun?"

Replying with a slight shake of his head, Sebastian bowed to the two ladies and made his way down the hall towards the elevator.

"Well now that's just great Maria-chan. Come on, let's get this over with. I don't want to talk to this guy any more than necessary." With that the two went to the other end of the hall towards the second elevator. There they went down to the first floor and then made their way to Sawara's office.

**In Lory's Office**

Lory picked up his phone and dialed the number from heart waiting as it rang once, twice, and was picked up. "Hello darling, what can I do for you?"

Lory smiled as Ten greeted him with a voice that sounded like she knew he was up to no good. "Now what's with the suspicious voice Ten-chan? I just want your help in getting my two slow children ready for the big party. You know, without letting Mogami-kun know that she's going to be the guest of honor? I want you to dress her up nice for the big announcement. And of course, Ren too. He has to look nice when he's with his love."

Chuckling, Ten happily said she would love to do it and then hung up since she was working.

**LME Lobby**

Yashiro just walked into LME's lobby after sneaking some pictures of Ren and Kyoko having lunch together. Although they were well hidden from the public eye in a corner of a restaurant by LME, as usual they couldn't hide from Yashiro. Not that they knew that he was watching them. He had a huge smile on his face loving that all of his hard work has paid off so well. _Then again, why is it their schedules are so open these days? And neither of them have anything much tomorrow or Saturday… This has President Lory written all over it. Heh, speak of the devil eh?_ Just as he finished his thoughts Sebastian met Yashiro at the elevator as the doors opened.

"Hello Sebastian-san, how are you today?" Yashiro looked at him curiously when Sebastian held a green envelope. On it was his name and the word 'urgent' hand-written on it. Opening the piece of folded paper, Yashiro's face took on the likeness of a Cheshire cat. _Definitely President Lory's doing. 'Ren and Kyoko interrogation tomorrow afternoon, we will find out the truth then and there.' That's quite bold there President._ "I just hope those two don't go crazy. Do you have a delivery for them too? They should be walking in the lobby any minute now."

Sebastian pulled out a blue and a red envelope nodding in response. At that moment, the elevator announced their arrival at Yashiro's destination and Sebastian bowed as Yashiro made his way to Ren's office.

**LME Lobby Again…**

Ren and Kyoko walked into LME's lobby chatting about something or another. No one really paid attention anymore since this was almost a daily happening for the past few weeks. And so they made their way to the elevator undisturbed. When the elevator doors opened however, there was Sebastian waiting patiently for them. He bowed to them and ushered them into the elevator pressing the button to the President's floor.

"Um, hello Sebastian-san. Do you need something?" Kyoko looked perplexed as Sebastian silently handed Ren a blue colored envelope. Ren opened the envelope and read the message looking quite puzzled.

"What does the President mean 'come when I call tomorrow'? Normally he would just let me know he wants to talk to me but not in this fashion. What's he planning this time?"

"Maybe it has something to do with your schedule or something. It has been a little empty recently…." Kyoko trailed off as Sebastian pulled out a red envelope and handed it to her. Just a bit stumped now she opened the paper and read it.

Ren became both suspicious and apprehensive as the aura around Kyoko got darker. He thought the President was up to something but he didn't think it was that bad until now. "Um, Kyoko, what's wrong? What does it say?"

Giving Ren a dark look she answered, "I have to go when he calls me and explain myself."

"Explain what?" Ren asked confused.

"That's what I want to know." Looking at Sebastian Kyoko got no answer as the elevator conveniently reached its destination.

"Well I guess that's it. I wouldn't worry too much about it. You know how the President is Kyoko. Sometimes he can say some misleading things." As he finished speaking the elevator reached his destination and he waved goodbye and made his way to his office.

Pressing the button for the first floor again, Kyoko went on her way to the LoveMe locker room. _I guess if Kuon says not to worry then I shouldn't. Besides, today I get to see Moko-san!_ Brightening up her mood with the thought of seeing her best friend after a few days of not even catching so much as a glimpse of her, Kyoko continued on her way not dwelling on the President and his cryptic messages anymore.

**Sawara's Office**

Takenori Sawara looked up to find one Kanae Kotonami and Maria Takarada standing at his desk. "Hello girls. Is there something I can help you with?"

Kanae looked reluctant as she replied, "Hello Sawara-san. I-We were wondering if you could give us the number of Sho Fuwa's manager."

"Whatever do you need that for?" Sawara inquired slowly. He was just a tad bit confused since he's never known Kanae to have an interest in the Fuwa boy.

Maria was getting impatient as she began explaining in a rushed tone. "Well you know we're planning Onee-sama's surprise success party and since he was a part of her success we technically have to invite him sooooo we need his manager's number if we are going to do that."

"Oh! If that's the case, I guess I could give it to you. Though I don't think you will have much luck. That boy has a pretty busy schedule since he's the number one musician in Japan and all." While speaking Sawara flipped through his contacts book and wrote down the number for them. They walked away leaving him muttering about Sho's fame by himself.

"Don't you think that was a bit too easy? I mean, even if we have a reason like that, to give out the number to the manager of such a famous person just like that…." Kanae trailed off as she started thinking about it in her head.

Maria was thinking the same thing but piped up when she had a eureka moment. "Maybe Grandfather told him to. I mean, I think Se-chan told Grandfather that we were going to invite Sho."

"You're probably right. Even he would make sure that Kyoko's night isn't ruined by that guy."

"Hey, hey, can I call? I think I can be a little more convincing than you because you might just explode ne?"

Kanae looked at Maria for a second before she froze at the sight in front of her. Kyoko had spotted them and was heading their way. "Ok Maria-chan, here. **Don't** let her find out! I'll go distract her."

Maria was stunned at Kanae's sacrifice before bounding away to the elevator where she went up to the top floor.

Kanae on the other hand was in a nightmare. Kyoko was so excited to see her that she was having a hard time breathing in the bear hug she was trapped in. Before she could get any more pitying looks from the already used to it passersby, Kanae pulled them into the LoveMe locker room.

**Lory's Office**

Maria came skipping into Lory's office looking extremely excited. "Grandfather, can I use your phone? I need to make a call to Sho Fuwa's manager."

"Oh, you're calling her? I figured Kotonami-san would do that." Lory smiled at Maria when she didn't seem surprised at all that he knew.

"Yes well she was going to but then Onee-sama saw us and Kanae-san sacrificed herself for our plans. She's a really brave one."

"That she is my girl. Do you want me to help you or do you want to do it yourself?"

"No, I think I will be fine but thanks for the offer. I want to do this myself since I can't do anything much for my Onee-sama." Picking up the phone, Maria quickly typed in the number and waited for the ringing to subside.

The phone was answered on the third ring just as Maria was about to hang up. "Hello, this is Aki Shoko. How may I help you?"

"Hi! This is Maria Takarada from LME. I'm the President's granddaughter."

Shoko was temporarily stupefied by the bubbly child's voice on the other end of the line. Stepping out of the studio, she inquired, "Um, Maria-chan is it? I don't want to be rude but why are you calling me?"

"Well, don't tell anyone because it's a secret but Grandfather and I and Onee-sama's best friend Kanae Kotonami are planning a surprise success party for Onee-sama. We decided that we had to invite Fuwa because technically he is a part of why she's successful. Sooo, if you can't get him to come, it's okay but if he wants to come, the party will be Saturday night right here at LME. And he's allowed to bring one guest. And you are invited too because Onee-sama said that you were her friend. You can come and bring someone too. Well, that's all so you can call back at this number to give your answer. This is Grandfather's offices' number."

"Um, Maria-chan, is the Onee-sama you're talking about Kyoko-chan?"

"Oh, yes, sorry. I'm used to calling her that, I forgot that you didn't know."

"Un, well Maria-chan, I would love to come and Sho doesn't have anything to do Saturday night either. The only thing is that Sho is a little weird right now. He said he was going to stay away from Kyoko-chan for a while but I have no idea why. I'll see if he wants to come though. What time will it start?"

"Hmm, that's weird… oh well, we want everyone there at 9PM and then we'll bring in Onee-sama at 9:30 when everyone is ready."

"Ok, thank you. I'll see what I can do."

"Okie, have a good day Shoko-san"

"You too Maria-chan" With a click the phone was off and Maria was bouncing her way to her grandfather who was sitting on his throne on the other side of the room.

"Grandfather! I finished. Now will you tell me what that message was about?"

"I'm sorry Maria-chan but I can't tell you until tomorrow with everyone else. It will make things easier."

"Ok, if you say so Grandfather."

**Ah! I can't believe how hard that was to write. Sorry if anyone seemed totally OOC, I have a hard time coming up with how to do the conversations…. -_-'**

**Anyway~s ^_^ As always, thanks for reading! Reviews help and if you have any ideas or anything you want to see, drop me a note :) **


	9. Chapter 9

**I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I really am disappointed with this one though with my experience I don't know how to make this any better. I seriously think I put too much comedy in it. **

**Let me know if you like it please, any advice you've got helps me make my writing better ^_^**

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not in any way own or have claim on Skip Beat or any characters in this story.

Chapter 9: The Secret's Out

RECAP:

[_…President and his cryptic messages…_]

Today, Friday, is a day that five souls have been waiting for; three souls are dreading and two are looking forward to this momentous day. However, it is just too bad they will be left alone with their thoughts to torment them until much later in the day.

And so, our three dread-filled souls went along with their not-so-lovely schedules for the day.

3PM found Hizuri Kuu and Julie excitedly boarding Lory's private jet to Tokyo, Japan. When they finally arrived at the private landing site, Sebastian was there waiting for them. He sent a nod to the both of them and after getting their luggage into the inconspicuous black car, drove off toward LME.

**Somewhere in LME**

"Will the holders of the pink, green, and peach envelopes please come to my office immediately!" Ren and Kyoko were startled out of their chitchat when they heard the President's voice over the intercom.

Ren smiled down at Kyoko as the buzz faded off. "Looks like the President is finally making his move. I have a pretty good idea who two of them are but who could be the third person?" Ren and Kyoko were sitting on a couch in one of LME's many waiting areas away from the usual crowd of employees and guests. They had decided to wait for the President to call them since they had nothing else to do for the day.

"I agree; it would definitely be Yashiro-san and Moko-san. You don't thing the President actually knows about us, do you?" Kyoko whispered the last part afraid that someone might hear her. She looked up at him with a little panic in her eyes.

"You don't need to worry about that Kyoko, the most he would do is a little celebration with close friends if we asked him to keep it a secret. And besides, I think he figured it out a long time ago. You noticed he was giving us weird smiles a couple of months ago, didn't you? He definitely suspects us if he doesn't already know." Ren gave a little shiver as he thought back to Lory's knowing smiles shaking his head to clear away those disturbing thoughts. Looking over at Kyoko he saw her do the same sending a heavenly smile her way. _Who would have thought I could have so much happiness like this? It's like we're connected by faith, finishing each other's sentences, thinking the same stuff…. And I thought when it happened with mom and dad it was creepy. I owe them an apology for all the downright rude staring and scowling whenever they did that. And I'll probably have to endure mom's cooking for not telling them that I told Kyoko everything already._ Ren mentally cried out in pain at his train of thoughts hoping that he wouldn't see them any time soon.

The two continued sitting in silence when the President came on the intercom again. "Holder of the blue envelope, in my office in 10 minutes please."

_Just me? What's he up to?_ "Alright then, see you in a bit." Ren smiled and walked towards Lory's office.

**In Lory's Office**

As the first three that were called walked in to Lory's office, he ushered them over to the couches that were placed around his throne-like chair immediately. Yashiro and Kanae took their seat next to each other to Lory's left and Maria sat alone opposite her grandfather. "Okay you three, we all know that Ren and Kyoko are together. You can see that, even though they are trying to hide it from us. Today, I plan on finding out the truth. I'd say they have been together for at least four months. What about you?" There were nods of approval as everyone thought of their two favorite people.

"I think longer, but I don't really know how long…" Maria piped up after a few seconds of thinking.

"Hm… I think they've been going longer too. Maybe about six months or so? Kyoko has been a lot happier since that six month mark." Everyone's heads turned to Kanae, Yashiro's head turning sharply to look at the girl incredulously.

"Seriously? I've been watching them forever now and I haven't noticed too much of a change in their behavior, just in the last few months…"

There was a knock at the office door interrupting Yashiro. All went silent as Ren walked in. "Am I interrupting something? I am a bit early, maybe I'll just take a walk back to the elevator…" He turned around to leave be was stopped by Yashiro's voice, a little higher pitched than normal.

"Um, no that's fine."

"You didn't interrupt anything!"

"No, no, not at all Ren-sama!"

Ren raised an eyebrow at the rushed thus suspicious replies. _Nothing at all, eh? And Maria-chan is the third person? Just __**what**__ is going on here?_

"Alright Ren, don't worry. This is about that party Kotonami-san and Maria-chan are planning." Lory smiled not giving Ren much reason to believe him. "The party is actually to celebrate Mogami-kun's debut success and something else we will discuss when she gets here. Which reminds me…" Lory paused to call the holder of the red envelope up to his office then continued. "So now you know. I need you to behave and keep it a secret from her. Ten-chan will dress you two up before the party and your job will be to escort her in and keep her company. Oh, and Ren? Don't start glaring at every male that looks at her… it makes things awkward for the guests."

There was a faint knock on the door as he finished and Lory called the person in. Sebastian walked in with his charges in tow.

"Boss! Long time no see! What's with all the secrets?" As he finished his sentence, Kuu looked around at the shocked faces of all of the occupants of the room, that is except for Lory himself of course.

"You're finally here! Welcome Kuu, Julie. You look lovely today!" Lory beamed standing up and greeting his guests.

Before any further greeting or conversation was made, there was yet another knock on the door. Sebastian opened it upon receiving a nod from Lory. On the other side of the threshold stood an extremely nervous Kyoko looking down at her feet. Stepping through the door, her eyes widened when she heard 'My son!" and looked up to see her pseudo father. However, her immediate reaction was subdued by the sight of who she assumed was his beautiful wife. She smiled brightly but it faded slightly as she saw Ren's carefully blank face. "Ah… hello father. Um… Julie-san?" Kyoko bowed, a look of unease passing her face.

"Oh dear! Is this the Kyoko-chan I've been hearing so much about? Please, if you call my honey father, you **have** to call me mother!" Julie clapped her hands excitedly then grabbed Kyoko in a slight bear hug.

_If…if they're here, the President is __**definitely**__ planning on letting something out! Oh god, what do we do? They'll definitely be mad that we didn't tell them!_ Kyoko sent a panicked look to Ren over Julie's shoulder.

"Ahem" Everyone turned towards Lory who was getting impatient to hear the answers they have all been waiting for. "Now that everyone is gathered, shall we begin?" Lory gestured towards the chairs and couches surrounding a miraculously busy coffee tableful of tea cups and a steaming kettle of tea ready and waiting for them. Everyone made their ways to the couches, Kanae and Yashiro returning to their seat, Lory on his throne, and Kuu, Julie, and Maria on the couch opposite of him. Ren and Kyoko uncomfortably made their way across everyone to the love seat left open for them.

"Well this is a nice arrangement." Lory looked at the two and smiled that creepy knowing smile again. If they hadn't frozen, they would have seen the same wicked smile on everyone's faces.

This frozen wasteland moment lasted a good minute when, rolling her eyes, Kanae snapped, "Oh please! Don't be so shocked! We've known for a while now! You think you can hide something like that from us?"

"Calm down Kotonami-san. Everyone please, let's have some tea and we can begin this conversation properly."

As everyone helped themselves, Lory began. "You two have much to explain." He looked at them straight in the eyes making Ren and Kyoko shiver slightly from what they knew was coming next. "We know you two have been going out. Don't deny it! After some deliberation from the people who know you best," he paused to gesture at Maria, Kanae, and Yashiro, "we have come up with a time frame." Pointing an accusing finger at them, Lory exclaimed in a whiny voice, "You two have been going out for a whole six months and you didn't even bother to tell us!" [Insert pouty crying face here]

When they heard 'six months' both Ren and Kyoko chocked on their tea coughing as Lory finished his dramatic accusation. The coughing stopped and Ren looked around at everyone with a shocked expression which fell to dread as he saw his parents' faces. "W-_what_ are you talking about? Well no, I know what you're talking about but WHAT?" Ren couldn't believe his ears. He looked over at Kyoko knowing full well she wouldn't be taking this as well as he was.

Kyoko was just plain shocked. "Six months… six months…" She just kept muttering to herself earning worried and guilty glances from the others. All of a sudden she looked up and much to Ren's horror decided to correct them. "We haven't been dating for six months, you guys are way off!" She seemed to almost bounce off her seat as she said this then slapped a hand over her mouth. "Um, I mean, ah you see…" Her face started turning different shades of red getting darker by the second. She attempted to hide behind Ren, opting for feeding him to the dogs.

"Ok then, spit it out! Five months, four? How long?" It was Kuu who spoke first, hardly keeping his excitement in check as the fantasies of the potential wedding exploding in his head.

"Yeah, yeah, how long Ren-sama? We all want to know!"

Before Ren could even be surprised by Maria's outburst, both Kanae and Yashiro yelled, "HOW LONG?"

**Hah! When I wrote it I was planning on putting his answer in this chapter but after thinking it over, I think it would go better in the next one. No pitchforks and fires please, angry mobs scare me -_-' I promise to update the next chapter VERY soon :]**

**Anyway~s ^_^ As always, thanks for reading! Reviews help and if you have any ideas or anything you want to see, drop me a note :) **


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed ^_^ **

**I can't believe how predictable my story was… though then again, I realized after I wrote all of this that I gave the answer away in chapter 6… =P**

**Let me know if you like it please, any advice you've got helps me make my writing better ^_^**

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not in any way own or have claim on Skip Beat or any characters in this story.

Chapter 10: FINALLY!

RECAP:

_Kyoko was just plain shocked. "Six months… six months…" She just kept muttering to herself earning worried and guilty glances from the others. All of a sudden she looked up and much to Ren's horror decided to correct them. "We haven't been dating for six months, you guys are way off!" She seemed to almost bounce off her seat as she said this then slapped a hand over her mouth. "Um, I mean, ah you see…" Her face started turning different shades of red getting darker by the second. She attempted to hide behind Ren, opting for feeding him to the dogs._

"_Ok then, spit it out! Five months, four? How long?" It was Kuu who spoke first, hardly keeping his excitement in check as the fantasies of the potential wedding exploding in his head._

"_Yeah, yeah, how long Ren-sama? We all want to know!"_

_Before Ren could even be surprised by Maria's outburst, both Kanae and Yashiro yelled, "HOW LONG?"_

There was a long stretch of unbelievable silence as the entire room waited with abated breath, watching Ren open and close his mouth like a fish out of water. Six bodies scooted impossibly further down their seats, grips tightening on the ends of the couches. Faces full of expectation and curiosity slowly melted to scowling and glaring at the poor actor trying with all his might to unfreeze his vocal cords. After what seemed like ages but what had only been about half a minute, Ren found his voice.

"Uh, well, I don't think you guys will be too surprised, I mean you know us best…" He glanced down at Kyoko whose face was slowly decreasing in color. "We've been going out for a little over a ymfhgh!"

Slapping a hand over Ren's mouth, Kyoko exclaimed," Yes! Just a few weeks, ahahah!"

"That's a lie!" Left eye twitching slightly, Kanae sat back in her seat and folded her arms. Everyone's attention was drawn to her as she began interrogating Kyoko in a somewhat calm voice. "You may have these people tricked but I know you! Every time you lie, you put on that Tsuruga Ren's famous I-am-angry-but-you-don't-need-to-know-that smile. It's the mask you use any time you want to get away from something. You should know it doesn't work on me!" Out of the corner of her eye, Kanae saw Yashiro trembling and Lory, Kuu, and Julie smiling knowingly. But what freaked her out the most was that now Ren was wearing his infamous smile.

"If you would excuse us for a minute, Kyoko dear, we need to talk." That said, Ren took her hand and walked out the door. Unbeknownst to them, when the door clicked shut and the footsteps stopped, all hell broke loose as everyone scrambled for a place to stick their ear.

"Sho! Great, that was the last job on your schedule. You're free for the rest of the night. You should go home and get some rest. You look like you've seen a ghost." _At this rate, he won't be able to make it to Kyoko-chan's party. I wonder if that's a good thing though… _Shoko stared at her charge with worry written all over her face.

"Isn't having the same dream several nights in a row some kind of premonition?" Sho looked at Shoko, a defeated air surrounding him.

"What are you talking about Sho? It could be, but what is the dream about? I mean, it may not mean anything at all!" As she was talking, Sho just seemed to sink deeper into his depressed state.

Slumping his shoulders, a very un-Sho like thing to do in public if not at any time, Sho started walking out of the building. "I think it would be best if I don't see Kyoko for some time. It might just make things worse…."

_Oh no! Maria-chan, I failed and I didn't even try yet! _"Wait, Sho! What are you saying? You can't just decide to ignore Kyoko-chan like that! You have to see her some time. And besides, if you're going to be in this kind of mood, it would be better to see her so that you can get back to being the normal Sho, right?" _You're a genius Shoko! ^.^_ Shoko hid a grin as Sho perked up.

"You're right, if I see her and confirm it, then everything will be good again and that stupid nightmare will go away too! Hah! Just you wait Kyoko, I'll prove it once and for all that you're mine! So, when is she going to be free for me to get a good amount of time with her for myself? Does she have any more filming for Box-R or something today?"

_Oh boy, what did I just do?_ "Uh, actually… I got an invite for you from LME. They are doing a surprise party for Kyoko-chan for her big movie debut."

"Movie debut? She already got that far? Since when? How long have you known about it?"

"Sh-Sho! You never wanted to watch the commercial for the movie! I never kept it from you.

And then you started sulking saying you didn't want to see Kyoko-chan's face or even hear her name. Geez!"

"What movie is it?"

"That huge movie that they recently started talking about, _Elements_."

"Ok, and when is this party of theirs?" Sho looked a little peeved but was otherwise unusually calm.

"Actually, we have to be at LME tonight at 9PM. They want everyone there before Kyoko-chan arrives. I made sure to keep your schedule empty just in case you decided to go."

"Then what are we waiting for? We've got a party to go to!" Fully revived, Sho trots over to the car, bouncing on his heels as he waited for Shoko to open the doors.

Ren pulled Kyoko a little distance away from Lory's office doors and stopped, turning to face a confused Kyoko.

"W-why are you angry, Ren?"

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Ren took a moment to organize his thoughts. "Kyoko, do you want to tell them or not? Why'd you jump like that all of a sudden?"

"Uh, well believe it or not, I had a really bad feeling just now but it's gone now. I don't think it was about telling them how long we've been dating. It's just that it came at that very moment… you know, it got me kind of worried…" Peeking up at Ren, Kyoko immediately regretted it as the all too shiny demon killing heavenly smile was sent her way. _Geez this man. No matter how many times I see it, it's still freaky and to think such a thing is directed at me alone!_

"It's ok Kyoko. Even if the world was to find out about us, no matter what they do or say, I will still love you forever." [Cue the shiny flowery background]

"F-fine, let's go back and get this over with… if they're going to kill us, I want it to be quick." Blushing heavily with a hand over her heart, Kyoko turned and made her way back to Lory's office, Ren trailing behind her holding back his laughter.

"Curses! Why did they have to go so far away? I can't hear a thing!" Everyone looked at Lory and his little outburst before they heard Sebastian clear his throat.

"Sir, you _do_ have a camera set up outside your office door…" Although he never showed it on his face, Sebastian's eyes were alight with amusement as he held up the remote to the large screen TV set behind Lory's desk. Embarrassed at their antics, everyone began to straighten themselves as Lory took the remote, slight tinge on his cheeks.

"Sorry everyone, I completely forgot about it in my excitement." However, their little victory was short lived as once the screen came on, everyone saw Kyoko and Ren heading back to the office. Turning the screen off, everyone settled into their seats and waited as the two walked back into the room.

Taking their seats, Ren opened his mouth only to be interrupted by Lory's office phone. Lory nodded to Sebastian who picked up the phone. "It is for Maria-chan."

Bouncing up from her seat, Maria answered the phone with a cheery hello only to put it down the next moment and bounced back to her seat. Seeing the questioning glances she received, she just mouthed 'later' and looked at Ren.

"Ok then Ren, you were about to say?" Everyone looked from Lory's expectant face to Ren's, sipping their tea and waiting for an answer.

In a small voice Ren started, "Well uh, let's see hm… when she turned 19, huh, hm… about a year officially, another half if you count me trying to convince her it's real…"

It was now everyone else's turn to spit and choke on their tea. Even Maria and Lory were subject to the shock of those last words. The last six had Lory going through several lectures about love to the imaginative anti-love Kyoko in his head.

"We actually want to keep it a secret for now." Ren and Kyoko spoke together, breaking the silence. They both looked at Lory waiting to see what the man had to say.

Lory smiled as he looked at his two favorite people like any proud parent. "You two have grown so much! Who knew you could hide something so huge and exciting from us all this time while we broke our backs trying to get you two together." Lory looked at the two with mock anger as they broke into smiles and giggles at the memories of their friends' attempts to get them together as much as possible.

"And here I've been saying you two were probably the stupidest, most dense people on earth because you never even batted an eyelash at our efforts. I have to apologize." Yashiro looked at the two guiltily though his sarcastic tone did nothing to support him.

"Mo! You two," Kanae jutted a finger in their direction then turned to glare at Kyoko, "are seriously good actors!"

"Aw Moko-san! Don't be like that, we just wanted to surprise you guys. Right Ren?" He raised an eyebrow then nodded his agreement. "See? We really didn't mean to lie to you… besides, it was all Ren's idea anyways." Kyoko's semi-desperate attempt to appease her best friend seemed to have as much effect as coffee when you want to sleep (A/N: Doesn't work that way for me, coffee makes me sleepy… What about you guys?). It was only when Kanae saw Kyoko get up and get all glittery did she loosen up her irritated aura to save herself from getting glomped.

Lory cleared his throat making sure he had everyone's attention. "Well, we'd celebrate but I have some work to take care of so all of you are free to go." Everyone shuffled out of the room, Kuu and Julie following Ren and Kyoko out to celebrate on their own.

**Ahahaha! I crack myself up! Hope you had as much fun reading as I had writing it =]**

**Anyway~s ^_^ As always, thanks for reading! Reviews help and if you have any ideas or anything you want to see, drop me a note :) **


	11. Chapter 11

**Happy Holidays! Hope everyone had a great time.**

**Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed ^_^ Here's the next installment.**

**Let me know if you like it please, any advice you've got helps me make my writing better ^_^**

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not in any way own or have claim on Skip Beat or any characters in this story.

Chapter 11: Shouldn't have done that...

RECAP: [There's still a few hours until the party starts]

_Lory cleared his throat making sure he had everyone's attention. "Well, we'd celebrate but I have some work to take care of so all of you are free to go." Everyone shuffled out of the room, Kuu and Julie following Ren and Kyoko out to celebrate on their own._

After making their way out of Lory's office, Ren and Kyoko decided to go back to Ren's apartment with Kuu and Julie in tow. Upon arrival Kyoko set to the kitchen preparing some tea and snacks. Kuu joined her in the kitchen to ravage through his son's surprisingly well stocked kitchen to scoff down some snacks before joining his son and wife in the living room.

- Kyoko PV -

Walking into the living room with the tea and snacks on a tray, I found father and mother sitting on the couch with Kuon on the chair to the side of the coffee table flipping through the tv channels. I put the tray down and offered its contents to mother and father. After I made sure everyone was set I went and sat on Kuon's chair arm. He put his arm around my waist watching the tv. I could tell he was watching his parents out of the corner of his eyes but I left him at it. After all, its been a while since he last saw them or spoke to them for that matter.

Finally after a long silence mother decided to break the silence. "What's in this box here, Kyoko-chan?" I felt Kuon tense and squeeze my side. It was hard to hold back my smile because I just wanted to torture him and see how long he would wait. Now that that was over, the hard part will be trying to stop him from burning its contents.

"I was planning on opening it tonight. Kuon, could you get me the box cutter from the kitchen please?" I watched him walk away and then jumped to the table, father already having a giant grin on his face. "I didn't open it yet because he was always around. Father, how many did you send? This is a big box you know."

He grinned and hugged mother who looked extremely lost. I hurried to open the box before Kuon could come back. Inside were three huge photo albums. Mother squealed in delight and the three of us sat down on the couch with one of the albums open, the other two safely hidden from Kuon's sight.

- NPV -

While the three began flipping through page after page of the album of baby photos, Kuon finally walked back into the living room. Hearing giggling and whispers floating from the suspiciously huddled trio, he walked up behind them to see what they were doing seeing as the tv was long abandoned. The temperature suddenly dropped and the sound of the box cutter went unnoticed as the trio looked up to find Kuon a mix of emotions running past his face, mainly being embarrassed, angry and something close to hysteria. He immediately lunged for the album almost toppling over the chair and his mother in the process. For the next hour it was a game of monkey in the middle throughout the entire apartment until Kuon finally gave up - for now.

After that, the stories poured out, and at times, Kuon attempted to steal the album again trying his best to stop the embarrassment.

At 8PM Kuon dropped Kuu and Julie at Lory's mansion and got back to his apartment to figure out how to get the album away from Kyoko until they had to leave.

**Sorry its so short but I thought I might as well put up this filler since the contents of the box came to me. The next chapter might take a while.**

**Anyway~s ^_^ As always, thanks for reading! Reviews help and if you have any ideas or anything you want to see, drop me a note :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello all, thanks for reading. I have finally gotten access to a computer, though I am not sure when I will be able to next. Also, my school computer wiped all of the files on my flash drive where I kept all of my fanfictions so now I have absolutely no idea what I wrote and no back up T_T And I had a lot written so unfortunately I will not be able to update anything else until I write them all again. Thank you all for your patience…. Lesson learned.**

**DISCLAIMER: I have no ownership of Skip Beat! Or its characters…**

**Chapter 12: The Party**

Kuon watched as Jelly did her magic on Kyoko going into a semi-panic mode for the nth time tonight. The reason for the aforementioned panic attacks were the suspicious looks he was getting from her every time she looked at him. Not even Jelly's magic and make-up distracted her. She had asked him before they arrived at the designated room why jelly was dressing them up instead of getting to the party herself. After all, she was one of Lory's closest people. He could barely come up with an excuse to that one as he hadn't even thought of that himself. With a triumphant yell from Jelly, he was brought out of his thoughts.

"Ah! Finally done! You look so pretty Kyoko-chan!" Jelly clasped her hands together as she surveyed her handy work. Indeed, Kyoko was a complete work of art tonight. She was dressed in a form fitting sleeveless, knee length navy blue dress with a pair of borderline ridiculous high heeled navy blue pumps. Light make-up and an adjustment of her hairstyle and she was ready to charm the crowd.

Kuon, dressed in a tailored Armani suit with a navy dress shirt - the first few buttons undone, moved from his position leaning on the far wall and came up to guide Kyoko out the room and to the massive ballroom filled with everyone waiting just for her.

As Ren guided Kyoko to the double doors of the hall located inside of LME. She was still a little suspicious of the whole special treatment thing but she kept quiet, deciding instead to focus on walking in the 4 inch heals Jelly Woods had given her so that she can be closer to Ren's beautiful face, all according to Jelly herself of course.

As they doors opened up, all she could see was pitch black darkness. She gave a strange look to Ren who just smiled reassuringly telling her "It's all according to plan" as he escorted her in.

The room was deathly silent as they entered much to her dismay. They kept walking about a good 3 yards into the room where Kyoko knew the walls fanned out into the ball room before pausing. She took a breath to ask him what they were doing when several spotlights turned on, bathing the couple in semi-bright blue and white lights. She looked around wide eyed trying to see into the dark while Ren laughed at her surprise.

"Come on Kyoko, let's go in further." It was more of a whisper than anything but she straightened her posture and continued on to what she assumed was the middle of the room as her face slowly changed from a tight smile to a small frown as the cogs began to turn in her head. Of course, on the inside she was already pointing fingers at the President and Ren, the only culprits she could think of that would love to put her on more of a spotlight than she already was.

Suddenly there was the sound of a microphone turning on before spotlights went to the center of the stage on the opposite wall as well. Stepping into the center was little Maria who then announced, "Welcome everyone and thank you for joining us in our celebration for Kyoko-chan's debut!" As Kyoko's name left her mouth, all of the lights slowly came on as to not blind anyone. The unbelievably large – in Kyoko's mind – crowd began to cheer loudly as Kyoko looked around, once again wide-eyed. As the applause started dying down, a large projector screen came down behind Maria and clips from all of Kyoko's work started playing ranging from the Kurara commercial to her newest movie, _Elements_.

"Alright everyone, let's get this thing started. There is food on both sides along the walls as well as drinks on the corners and the middle. The staff will be filtering in with finger foods and drinks throughout the night. At 10:30 we will be playing Kyoko's new movie _Elements_ so please enjoy yourselves."

At the overly familiar voice, Kyoko turned her attention to the stage only to find Kanae standing by Maria. _Those two! I can't believe they did this! Oh they are going to get a chewing tomorrow! _Her thoughts were interrupted as director Ogata came up to the couple, congratulating Kyoko on her debut and saying something about having amazing friends and an overexcited president.

The next half hour consisted of exchanges from the casts of Dark Moon and Box-R as well as some of the attendees from several of Kyoko's small projects. At one point, the Ishibashi brothers came up to her as well though Ren guided her along when he saw that Hikaru was planning on having more than just small talk. As they headed away from a slightly confused Hikaru, Kyoko and Ren came up behind Kanae and Maria.

The two were busy scouting the room for what, or perhaps _who_, Ren had no clue but he decided to announce their presence before the evil and slightly aggravated look on Kyoko's face became any more pronounced. He cleared his throat and chuckled as the smaller of the two threw herself at Kyoko with a joyful cry of "Onee-sama!" completely missing the mood of the actress. Kanae herself seemed to ignore her sour mood as she smiled at her best friend.

"Kyoko! There you are we've been looking for you all over. So what do you think of the party, surprised?" The rare enthusiasm in her best friend's voice had Kyoko's mood doing a 180 as she smiled brightly at both Kanae and Maria.

"Moko-san, Maria-chan, the party is great! I was so surprised I thought it really was for the President." _I'll get my revenge later. Guess I might as well enjoy it since everyone worked so hard…_ She hugged them both when she heard Ren sigh in relief next to her. Turning to him she asked, "What was that for?" knowing that he was in on the whole thing.

He smiled down at her saying, "Nothing really, I just thought you might explode when you saw them with that face you were making. No doubt you were thinking that President Lory was behind all of this, weren't you?" The trio laughed as Kyoko blushed scarlet, stuttering as she tried to deny his spot on accusation. She finally settled with swatting his arm playfully as the three continued to snicker at her expense.

Ren turned to Kanae again, looking curious as he asked, "Kotonami-san, aren't the guests supposed to be everyone who Kyoko has worked with up until now?"

Kanae looked a little worried as she replied with a sheepish "Yes". _Please tell me he's not thinking about that snotty singer!_

"Oh, I didn't know you worked with the Ishibashi Brothers, Kyoko." He turned to her with the beginnings of his super sparkly gentleman's smile as she avoided eye contact like the plague. Their game of cat and mouse stopped as Kanae let out an uncharacteristic snort. Both turned to her, Ren with a raised eyebrow and Kyoko with a look of dread.

Kyoko instantly shrank behind Ren, begging her dearest friend not to get her incinerated tonight with a few gestures, including the now perfected puppy dog eyes. Instantly Kanae burst into a fit of laughter much to Kyoko's dismay. However, Ren was not going to get an answer since Yashiro came waltzing up to the group.

"Good evening ladies, Ren. Did I miss something?" He asked as he took in Kanae's state and Kyoko's semi-dreadful expression.

"N-nothing really Yashiro-san, how have you been this evening? Ren has been with me all night so I had no idea what you were up to." Kyoko said, breaking the silence as Kanae continued smiling rather largely. Even Maria seemed lost but Kyoko was not going to expose herself in front of all these people, especially since Ren divulged so much information to what he thought was a random chicken - uh, person in a chicken suit. _I won't tell, even if Moko-san is laughing at me for the rest of the night. That just means I have to get extra revenge on her! Oh, I know, I can bake Moko-san a super sweet cake and cook a huge meal! YES, she'll love it and hate it all at the same time! Woohoo! I'm a genius!_ Kyoko began letting out evil little snickers that turned into low cackles that could be heard by those near her. Luckily for her, the only ones within hearing distance were the ones she has been speaking to. Of course, seeing as Kyoko was looking straight at her, Kanae sobered up looking quite scared for her life. The rest just took a step back and sweat dropped.

"W-well I have been fine, I have been speaking to President Lory since before you came in. Speaking of which, Ren, the President would like to speak to you. I shouldn't have let him wait this long anyways. It seemed important." With that, he dragged Ren through the crowd to practically the other side of the room leaving the three girls to entertain themselves.

"K-Kyoko, I was just kidding, please, whatever you are planning right now, please stop! I don't want to know. I promise I won't tell him anything so please!" Kanae begged as soon as Ren and Yashiro were out of hearing. Unfortunately for her, Kyoko just smiled, not acknowledging the plea for peace. Instead she turned around, grabbing both girls in each hand and began trekking to the nearest food table and unknowingly towards the one that could possibly turn this night upside down. The trio broke to fill their own plates, Maria going for the sweets on the other end while Kanae drifted over there as well. Kyoko went over to fill her plate with some more meat and cheese as she was expecting that Ren might be back soon. That is when it happened.

Out of nowhere an arm snaked its way around her waist and dragged Kyoko towards a darker corner table and sat her in a chair, blocking her path to go back to her friends. She was too shocked to even say anything much less fight back against the very male presence that grabbed her. She set her plate, which surprisingly didn't drop anything, on the table as Shou's face came into her view. He brought his chair up in front of her and sat down, his long legs stretching out at the sides of her chair. Her eyes narrowed as he made himself comfortable before he began to speak.

"All night I was in a corner of this room, watching as you went around the room greeting everyone and conversing with a few too many males. What's worse is that you were always hanging off of that irritating Tsuruga Ren. What do you have to say for yourself? What are you doing hanging around all of these guys all the time? I thought you had a job to do, when are you going to grow up Kyoko? You think it's cool to start hanging around all of these guys all of a sudden? Is that how you got up the ladder so fast, you're selling yourself to these bastard actors and directors? Well, answer me Kyoko!" In the duration of the rant his voice just got more and more bitter and towards the end he snarled out the last sentence, getting even more irritated since he got no reaction from Kyoko except a few eye twitches. Angrily, he shoved a cube of cheese in his mouth as he waited for her to answer, forgetting his image in favor of venting his anger.

Kyoko sat there for a good five minutes just soaking up everything Shou spat out at her. She allowed herself to find some amusement as she watched him stew in agitation, eating all of her meat and cheese cubes. Then, a brilliant idea came to her. _I am totally on a mean streak tonight_. She snickered and Shou's eyebrow twitched.

"What are you laughing for? Just answer the question, damn it!" He quieted as an all too familiar smile appeared on Kyoko's face and her posture relaxed.

She crossed her legs and leaned back, appraising him from top to bottom before she started to speak, Natsu in full control. "Shou, I really thought you would have learned your lesson from the last time. I'm surprised you actually showed up, did your devoted manager talk you into it?" She smirked as she saw him flinch at her tone. "Kyoko," she continued, "has no time to be answering foolish questions about her career. If you're jealous, why don't you just say so? No one will hate you for admitting it. In fact, no one will hate you for admitting that you want to take back what you said about her being plain and boring. After all, anyone who looks at you can see that you're love sick yet you know I don't want anything to do with you. What do you want me to tell you Shou? Hard work can get you up the ladder faster than you think. You know that well enough. Everyone acknowledges that you are a professional when it comes to work so why are you slandering mine?" Natsu started to slip as the rant went on, finally settling on Kyoko's heated golden eyes flaring in the dark. When she got no answer from him, Kyoko got up and pushed past his knees as he sat there still quiet.

Kyoko made her way back to the food table, starting again to refill her plate. Kanae and Maria came up to her. "What happened to you Kyoko, where'd you go?" Kanae asked, slightly worried.

Kyoko smiled, "I was just talking to Shou. No worries, everything is fine, we just had a friendly little chat." As she spoke, the three walked back to a table near the front that Kanae and Maria originally set up for Kyoko and company.

Ten minutes into picking at their plates, Kanae complaining about eating all of those calories, Ren and Yashiro came up to the table and took a seat next to Kyoko and Kanae. Maria was seated in between the two women and a seat was left for Lory in between the two males.

Before anyone could begin talking however, there was a loud noise on the stage followed by Lory asking for everyone's attention. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming out to celebrate the debut of one of LME's promising young actresses! I hope you all are ready for the show because the showing of _Elements_ is about to begin. Please make your way to your tables and enjoy!" As he spoke, the screen came down behind him once again. He exited to the left and made his way to Kyoko's table just as the beginning credits started.

**Again, thanks for reading :)**


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